Harless in line for VSB presidency

W. David Harless, a partner at Christina & Barton LLP in Richmond and a member of the Virginia State Bar Council and executive committee, will become president of the VSB in July 2012.

Harless announced his candidacy earlier this year to become president-elect, succeeding George W. Shanks, in 2011.

Under VSB rules, he automatically became president-elect designate, the unwieldy title the VSB has for the position, when no one else entered the fray before Oct. 1. Those rules limit the field, because the candidate must have been a member of the VSB council for two of the five previous years before submitting a petition with the name of 50 attorneys to accompany his or her candidacy.

A native of Jonesville, Harless is the son of a Virginia state trooper who was killed in the line of duty in 1968.

He graduated from the University of Kentucky and the University of Virginia law school and clerked for U.S. District Judge Glen Williams before joining Christian & Barton. Most of his practice involves commercial, employment and products liability litigation.
By Alan Cooper